Happy Holidays!

The Holidays are here and we've been busy celebrating with friends and family.

Isaac and I joined our good friends Andre and Lindsey for dinner and the holiday parade downtown. We managed to pick the coldest night of the year to attend the parade but it was great fun.

We've spent many afternoons making cookies and candy. Isaac is a fantastic helper in the kitchen. He keeps asking us for a chef's hat.

We also spent an evening making cookies over at the neighbors' house. I left early to put Theo to bed and the guys stayed to help. I heard they quickly moved on to ping pong and over things, leaving poor Jennifer to finish the decorating. Hopefully, Theo will hang in there longer next year so we can decorate together!

We've been lighting the candles for Hannukah

and opening a few gifts each day. We have been overwhelmed with cards and packages from our far away family. It's always fun to see what arrives in the mail each day.

And then there's this guy. During the festivities, Theo sometimes likes to hang out in his office (also known as an 'exersaucer'). He's a watchful young man and 'the office' is a safe place for him to observe his brother's wild antics.

6 months

Theo is six months old today. When I mentioned it to Carl he said, "That went fast." It truly has. This little boy is growing up before our eyes.


At six months:
*Theo is eating solids. Carrots are a favorite.
*He sits by himself.
*He rolls over both ways, but still gets stuck on his belly.
*He loves his big brother, looks for him when he hears his voice and smiles whenever he's around.
*He's learning to fall asleep on his own.
*He likes music and loves to dance with Dad.
*He's a big boy, barely fits into 9 month sizes. He's quite long.
*He has one tooth and his second could appear any day now.
*He knows his mom and dad and almost always greets us with a big grin.
*He fits perfectly into our family.

carrots

Telling secrets already. "You get to come to my school on Friday."

Sleeeeeeep

It's 3:45 in the morning and I could be sleeping because little Theo is. Many of you know about our sleeping troubles. They started when Theo was 2 months old. It was a cough we couldn't figure out. Finally, at 3 months, we realized it was reflux and he began taking medicine. He slept okay for a month and then at 4 months we really hit a rough patch. Many nights since then he's woken up every hour or two. During Thanksgiving we decided to tackle some issues. We got him out of the car seat and stopped walking or nursing him to sleep. He was doing a great job of falling asleep on his own, but he wouldn't stay asleep. He would startle every thirty to ninety minutes. So, I called our pediatric clinic for help and they sent me to the sleep clinic. Over the phone I described Theo's pattern and the consultant said, "It sounds like reflux." I then explained about his reflux and the medicine he's been taking. She told me he should try a different 'better' medicine. So, last Saturday Theo started a new medicine. Last week Theo also started rolling on to his stomach while sleeping. At first, he wasn't so thrilled about being on his tummy. He's still not able to roll from front to back, but over the last week he's gotten a lot more comfortable about being stuck on his belly and our boy is sleeping. The past two nights he's only woken up 3 times. That may seem like a lot, but it's far less then the 6-8 times we've been dealing with. So, we're hoping his good sleep continues. Hurrah! Now, I'll have to start retraining myself to sleep through the night!

A Little Bit of Love

A little bit of love goes a long way. We are very lucky to have so many people holding us up and helping us out as we find our way through these sleepless nights and foggy days.

They invite us over for delicious meals, love our children, and send encouraging text messages night and day.
They hold the baby, play with the preschooler, and spend holidays with us.

They keep us up on current happenings, love our boys with big hearts, and bring a little excitement to our lives.

They drive long distances to visit, do our yard work, and smile while our three year old follows them around like a shadow.

They bring us wine, bread, and laughter. They play Legos and write stories with our big guy. They hug us like only a mom can.

And this is just a little bit of the love coming our way. There's the friend who comes over to cut hair at a moment's notice, and the friends who are always up for a quick outing, the friend who calls from the road to check in, and the aunt who sends a card for every holiday. And of course there's more than I've listed here because we are so blessed! Hurray for you all!